The Comfort of Another
by Excadrilbur3
Summary: When Ron deserts them whilst hunting for Horcruxes, Harry tries to comfort Hermione. One thing leads to another, but they decide that their own bodies really aren't suitable for something like this. Polyjuice Potion and Body swapping occurs, leading to a much changed world. First chapter content is not representative of the rest. Not suitable for younger readers.
1. Chapter 1

A/N - Hey everybody. I wrote this short story because although there are plenty of stories out there where Harry has sex with someone whilst female, there are none that put in what I feel is a plausible context. This story is set in the only possible place I think it could happen - just after Ron has left Harry and Hermione during Deathly Hallows.

Obvious warning, this is not for younger readers, and if for some reason anyone wants to use this in their own story, just let me know. So, let's get right into it, why don't we?

Wales, UK

"Ron, no - please - come back, come back!"

Hermione ran after Ron out of the tent, whilst Harry stood there, unable to believe what had just happened. He heard a loud _crack_ , and Hermione returned, sobbing.

"He's gone! He Disapparated!"

She flung herself onto a bunk, and shook silently, tears flowing down her cheeks.

'I should go comfort her,' thought Harry, 'and if I'm lucky, I might just get something I've wanted for a while'.

Mind made up, he crossed the short distance and sat down beside her, wrapping an arm round her, and rubbing her back soothingly. Hermione didn't say anything,so Harry continued for a minute, before he leant in and pressed his lips to hers.

"Harry, wha-?"

"Shh, Hermione," Harry muttered, "You need something to help you forget, and as a friend it would be wrong of me not to offer it."

Not giving her a chance to respond, he rejoined their lips, showing her what she truly meant to him. He guessed, by the way she slowly started responding, that she agreed with where he was taking them, and so, heart hammering, he raised his hand to her breast, and gave it a light squeeze. However, the result was not quite what he had expected. Hermione jerked backwards, looking at him disbelievingly.

"HARRY!"

"Hermione?", he stuttered weakly. He thought that she wanted it, just like he did.

"What do you think you're doing?" she cried, staring him straight in the eye.

"I want to help you forget about Ron, even if just for a few hours. It will help us both get over it, and this seemed like the best way."

She looked at him with, if not forgiveness, at least understanding.

"Harry, that's very sweet of you, but you know I love Ron, even if he is being a collosal arse. My first time should be with him, not you."

Harry started to panic internally. He knew this was a once in a lifetime chance to get what he wanted - after this, Hermione would never be as receptive to his advances again.

"However," she said, bringing his attention back to her, "we do have something that could help - Polyjuice Potion. You're right Harry - it would be a good way to forget about Ron, but my virginity is his to take, and his alone."

"Then what are you saying?" Harry asked, confused. "You want me to take it and become Ron?"

"Good God no!" Hermione exclaimed. "That would be even worse - a lie! No, maybe we could take it to become each other."

Harry could hardly believe his ears.

"You mean - I would be a girl, and you, a guy?"

She nodded. "That's exactly what I mean. It's the only way I would feel remotely comfortable with this, since its the only way to conserve my virginity for Ron. What do you think?"

Harry considered. While it may mean he didn't get to have sex with Hermione as himself, it was still happening in a roundabout way. At the same time, he could actually _be_ Hermione, something he'd, understandably, never even thought about before.

"Okay" he said. "Let's do it."

"Right" Hermione said. "Here's your potion. I'll take mine in here, you take yours outside."

"Why can't we both take it in here?"

"It'll be weird enough having sex with my own body - watching you turn into me is going too far. Anyway, once you're outside, undress and send your clothes to me. I'll send mine to you, and that way, we can change into each other's clothes before we get into this."

"Sounds good," Harry grinned. "See you in a few minutes." He walked out, thinking that Hermione did seem to be getting into the spirit of this quicker than even he was.

Once outside, Harry found a sheltered spot, and undressed. After using a Banishing charm to send his clothes back to Hermione, and receiving hers in return, he conjured a full-length mirror to watch his transformation in, and reached for the Polyjuice.

"Here we go," he whispered, buzzing with excitement. He swallowed it one large gulp, observing that essence of Hermione was infinitely tastier than essence of Goyle (although still not nice, exactly). For a second, nothing happened, and then a tingling sensation shot through his entire body, causing him to double over in pain. He idly noticed, in the back of his mind, that this was a lot more painful than his previous transformation into Goyle, and guessed that it must be due to the fact he was changing gender as well.

Harry forced himself upright, so he could watch the mirror properly throughout. First, he saw his entire body shrink, adjusting to Hermione's shorter build. His waist, shoulders and legs grew thinner, even as he heard a loud crack, and saw his hips expanding outwards, giving his body the characteristic hourglass shape shared by Hermione and so many other women. Muscles all over his body became less developed, and the hair all over his body disappeared. The exceptions were on his head and between his legs - on his head, the hair grew longer, over his shoulders, turning wavy and light brown, and between his legs, it shrink to a small patch, barely noticeable. Then came the biggest changes. A pressure built up in Harry's chest, and he watched in shock as his nipples grew thicker, and began to push outwards from him, bringing two bumps of fat with them. Harry held them in his now smaller hands, feeling the unfamiliar weight of breasts hanging from his body. He looked back at the mirror, seeing that his face had turned to Hermione's whilst he'd been occupied with his new rack, and then the final change happened. Harry clutched his penis as it began to shrink, watching as it was pulled back into his body, leaving the area between his legs completely flat, until it split open, and proved that Harry was now indeed female. The internal changes weren't visible in the mirror, but Harry knew that he was now in possession of a womb, ovaries, and everything else that a woman should have.

Now that the transformation was complete, Harry took a moment to observe herself in the mirror.

"Blimey," she muttered, in a much higher voice than before. "Hermione is even more beautiful than I thought."

Her body was incredible, at least to her eyes. Everything seemed the perfect size - not too big, not too small, and exquisite in every way. She couldn't put it into words, but it felt… _different_ being female. Maybe it was the new weight on her chest, or the lack of a weight between her legs, but something was different in her very soul. However, Harry decided to ignore the philosophy for a while, and get on with what she really wanted. Putting on Hermione's clothes, ignoring the bra (she wasn't even going to bother trying to figure out how _that_ worked), she headed back to the tent, filled with primal anticipation.

When she entered, she was greeted with one of the strangest sights she'd ever seen - his old body, looking in a mirror whilst naked. She smirked, then decided to surprise Hermione. "Enjoying the view?"

Hermione jumped around, surprised. Then he scowled at Harry.

"Harry, I'm not dressed yet!"

Harry shook her head, amused.

"You don't need clothes for what we're about to do."

Without waiting for a reply, she crossed the room, and wrapped herself around Hermione, engaging him in a passionate kiss. She guided them towards the bed, feeling Hermione's penis enlarging as they moved, pressing against her belly. Seeing it aroused something in her, and she felt a dampness start to occur between her legs.

"Hermione" she said breathlessly, "would you kindly undress me?"

Hermione looked at her, eyes filled with desire. It was odd for both of them, to see their own faces so hungry, worn by another.

"Of course Harry." He pulled her top over her head, exposing her naked breasts, and stared at them. It would seem that Polyjuice transferred sexuality between bodies, because the sight of her own breasts wouldn't normally turn her on. But when she was in Harry's body, they drove her crazy. Hermione reached for Harry, and started squeezing and grinding her breasts. Harry let out a moan.

"Hermione! Ohhhh, that feels good!"

Hermione grinned, and decided to increase his teasing of Harry. Reaching in between her egs, he pushed a finger inside of her, and started moving it, slowly at first, but then faster.

"Oh my god! That's incredible! Don't stop, don't stop, don't stop…" Harry begged Hermione, feeling release about to arrive. Just before Harry could orgasm, Hermione stopped.

"What? No, carry on!" Harry complained, needing to finish.

"Don't worry, we're moving on to the main event now." Hermione raised himself above Harry, lined their bodies up, and thrust into him, hard.

"Fuck, Hermione! That's painful!" Harry grimaced.

"Is it? I'll make it feel better then."

Hermione started to move, and tentatively Harry joined in, slamming their bodies together, faster and faster, until eventually, Harry have a cry and orgasmed, the walls of her vagina clenching wildly on Hermione, tipping her over the edge as well, and she released a burst of semen into Harry, and then collapsed on top of him, panting. They lay their for a moment, before they both felt their bodies began to tingle. The hour was up.

Harry lost her breasts, and regained her penis, even as the opposite happened to Hermione. After a few seconds, they were back in their original bodies, lying naked next to each other.

Hermione was the first to break the silence. "Thank you Harry. That helped, it really did. But it can never happen again, and you can never tell anybody. Understand?"

Harry nodded. "Of course."

He didn't mind. He'd got what he wanted, and who knew? Hermione might need comforting again before Ron returned. If she did, he would be there to help her again. All she had to do was ask, and maybe, just maybe, she'd realise that she didn't need Ron - someone else already loved her much more.

 _Thanks for reading everyone! Please leave a review if you want, and if you want me to turn this into a story - you know, some kind of Harry/Hermione love story following on from this, then feel free to suggest it._


	2. Chapter 2

A/N - Hey everybody! Since there seemed to be some interest in my continuing this story, I've decided to give you what you want. This will now be turned into a full story! I sat down last night and planned out a basic outline and plot, but feel free to suggest plot points if you want! They might turn up, you never know! There will be other mature scenes later on, although possibly not for a few more chapters. I don't want to ruin any surprises I may have in store, but suffice to say that more body swapping will occur later in the story, this time of a more… _permanent_ nature. It will run past the end of Deathly Hallows, so expect non - canon material to pop up. I will endeavour to answer all reviews, so to my first reviewers _toile grant, MassEforTHEWIIIIN, winosourwex, reeveyfan123_ and _awesomeyes,_ thanks a lot for your reviews! It means a lot to me, it honestly does!

With all that said, enjoy the next installment of _The Comfort of Another_!

 _Somewhere, deep in the English countryside…_

It had been several days since Ron had left them, and since Harry and Hermione… _comforted_ one another. Even now, when Harry thought about, a ridiculously large grin lit up his face. It had truly been the best experience of his life, and what's more, he thought that Hermione might agree - he'd noticed her giving him surreptitious glances when she thought that he wasn't looking, quickly looking away when he returned her stares. 'Maybe, just maybe, she's starting to forget Ron, and falling in love with me,' Harry thought to himself. He couldn't deny that that would make him the happiest man alive, it really would.

Having been outside fishing, Harry headed back to the tent, arms full of that night's dinner.

"Hermione," he called, as he pulled aside the entrance flap.

"Yes Harry?" Hermione responded from the armchair she sat in, reading a book of some variety.

"I've been thinking," Harry began, "I think we should go to Godric's Hollow. I know you said that Voldemort would be watching it, but I think it'd be worth it."

Hermione bit her lip, and looked at him anxiously.

"What purpose could it serve, Harry? What could make it worth the risk?".

Harry knew he needed to convince her, he needed some excuse that would mask his desire to visit his parents grave. He cast his mind about, desperately trying to come up with something, when his eyes fell upon the book Hermione had been reading. _A History of Magic, by Bathilda Bagshot._ Bathilda Bagshot… lived in Godric's Hollow, and what's more, knew Dumbledore. Harry immediately jumped on this, and spun out his excuse.

"Well, we need to find Gryffindor's sword, don't we? Dumbledore grew up there, and he might have left the sword with Bathilda Bagshot. It's worth a try, isn't it?".

Hermione smiled. "Harry, I know why you really want to go. And I would too, if I were you. But you're right, the sword could be there as well. We should go, and soon, but we'll need to be disguised."

Harry grinned, elated that Hermione had agreed. "That's easy, we can Apparate to a shopping centre, grab some Muggle hair, and use that."

Plans made, they reached for each other's hands, and, with a _crack_ , vanished from the tent.

 _A random store cupboard, Old George Mall, Wiltshire_

Harry and Hermione stood over the unconscious bodies of two middle-aged Muggles. It had been relatively easy to Stupefy them when no one was watching, and drag them into the supply closet. Hermione pulled hairs from their heads, and placed them into a small glass vial.

"Hermione," Harry said thoughtfully, "is there a way to make Polyjuice last for more than an hour?"

Hermione looked at him quizzically. "Yes there is. Why do you ask?"

"Well, it would make it a lot more practical, if you didn't have to keep drinking it every hour to maintain a disguise. You know, if you're impersonating someone, it's quite suspicious to keep taking a drink from your own flask every hour, if you're not Mad-Eye."

"Well," Hermione began, entering her lecture mode, "There are three kinds of Polyjuice Potion, Harry. The first you're familiar with - it lasts an hour, and requires a hair from whoever you want to become. The second will last a day, and you need a hair plus another part of their body, for example, a fingernail. The third and final type," and here Hermione looked grim, "is illegal. You need a hair, a fingernail, and some blood from the target. This version of the Polyjuice is permanent, and has no known antidote. It's only been used twice in recorded history, because of the finality it brings with it - anyone taking it will never be themselves again."

Harry whistled softly. "Why would anyone use it, then? Why would someone give up their identity forever?".

Hermione shrugged. "Unfortunately Harry, no one knows. The two people who used it both went insane within a month, and committed suicide. And there's one more thing. You can only use it when the target is dead."

They stood there, in an awkward silence, before Harry broke it with a nervous laugh.

"Well then. Let's just stick with the one hour variety for now, shall we?"

 _Godric's Hollow, Christmas Eve_

Two figures appeared out of thin air, unobserved, in the street by the graveyard. Having taken the Polyjuice, Hermione had suggested they also utilise the invisibility cloak, but Harry refused. "I'm already hiding who I am by using someone else's form," he said flatly, "I won't hide myself further when I finally return to my home." In any case, they needn't have bothered. The streets were silent, the snowflakes illuminated by the street lamps floating softly down onto the cobbled paths. It seemed everyone was either at home, or in the church just down the road, the windows of which were lit up by some unseen light source inside. Without speaking to each other, they slowly made their way towards the graveyard, Harry's eyes drinking in the sight of his birth town. Pushing open the rusted gate, they split up, to find the final resting place of Lily and James Potter.

Hermione wandered down the rows of graves, looking for that familiar name. She passed many others, the graves of people she'd never met, never known, and yet who all had stories that would probably be forgotten, if they hadn't already been. Suddenly, she pulled up, having found, not the name she was looking for, but one just as familiar.

 _Here lies_

 _Kendra Dumbledore_

 _and her beloved daughter_

 _Ariana Dumbledore_

Beneath their names was an inscription.

 _There is no good greater than the love of a family._

Hermione looked over to Harry, about to call him over, when she saw him, perfectly still, standing over a headstone. She walked over to him.

"Are you alright, Harry?".

He didn't respond, just put his arm around her shoulders, and pulled her closer. It was then she noticed that he was sobbing quietly, tears flowing down his face.

"I wish…," he choked out, drawing short, sharp breaths, "I wish that they could have met you, Hermione. I wish they could have known I had a friend like you."

Hermione froze for a moment, not sure how to respond. Had Harry inadvertently revealed deeper feelings for her than she previously knew he had? Then, she dismissed the thoughts. She could analyse it later ; for now, she just had to be there for Harry.

After standing there for a few more minutes, and laying a beautiful bunch of flowers by the headstone, Harry and Hermione headed out the graveyard. Not knowing where Bathilda lived, they started down a random street to begin the search, when they abruptly halted. There, silhouetted in the light from the street lamps, stood a figure dressed in a black cloak, unmistakeably someone old, hunched over. Harry and Hermione turned to each other, and nodded. Then, with renewed determination, they strode towards the figure, who stood unmoving, watching them approach.

"Excuse me," Harry said to her softly, "are you Bathilda Bagshot?". The woman looked at him appraisingly, then slowly bowed her head, and lifted it again. Harry opened his mouth to question her further, but she turned, and started shuffling away. With no other choice, they followed her towards her destination.

 _Inside Bathilda's House_

Once safely out of the snow outside, Harry and Hermione took the opportunity to look around Bathilda's dwelling. The scant number of candles threw shadows over the walls, giving a distinctly unwelcoming feel. The tight, narrow hallways only added to the intimidating atmosphere. Hermione, almost unconsciously, edged closer to Harry, clinging to his arm for comfort.

Bathilda turned ominously to Harry, staring right at him, as if Hermione wasn't even present, but saying nothing.

Harry glanced down at Hermione. "Maybe she wants to speak to me alone? Maybe Dumbledore told her to only give it to me?"

He made to move away, but Hermione swiftly caught his hand.

"No," she said fiercely,"I'm not leaving you alone. Dumbledore knew you wouldn't be alone. Whatever," she continued, turning to Bathilda, "you have to say to Harry, you can say in front of me too." Internally, Hermione knew the real reason she wouldn't let Harry go. She didn't think he was in the best frame of mind after seeing his parents graves - he must still be in some form of mourning. After his half-confession earlier, she didn't want anything to happen to him if she could help it. Harry seemed frustrated for a moment, but then nodded in resignation.

"Where I go, she goes," he stated firmly to Bathilda.

Still she said nothing, but if Hermione didn't know better, she would have sworn she saw a flash of anger in the older woman's eyes, and even… hatred? Nonetheless, Bathilda motioned for them to follow her up the stairs, and they did so, every creak setting their nerves more on edge. She led them into a room on the second floor, that seemed covered in junk, things strewn across the floor haphazardly. Harry frowned.

"Do we have to search through this mess to find the sword? Bathilda? Can't you get it for us?".

The woman said nothing, prompting Harry to sigh, and start sifting through the piles of rubbish. Hermione watched, looking for a glimpse of metal, when it happened. It was all so quick, and over so fast. A choking sound began emanating from the old woman, and her entire body seemed to dissolve. Hermione froze, unable to believe the sight before her eyes, and that was all the time the snake needed to strike. She screamed as the fangs pierced her body, and immediately felt the toxin being injected into her veins. She collapsed to the floor, only managing to Harry roar in anger, and an explosion, before it all went black.

 _Thanks for reading! Please review if you want, whether to praise or criticise, I'll endeavour to reply to it all! I'm really looking forward to writing this story, and if you want to keep up to date , remember to follow and favourite. Expect at least one chapter a week, if not more._

 _If you want to use a plot point or idea from this story, please do. All I ask is that you let me know, via review or PM, so I can look at your story. If I like it, I'll make sure to recommend it here, so the rest of you can find other good fics to read._

 _Thanks again!_

 _Tom_


	3. Chapter 3

A/N - Hey everybody! Welcome back story. Can I just say before I begin, that I was slightly disappointed when I only got 2 reviews for the last chapter, even though I got several more favourites and follows. What's more, they were both from people who also reviewed the first chapter. I mean, big thanks to reeveyfan123 and toile grant, but is disheartening to see so many people read your chapter, and only have 2 of them review. While I would never hold this story hostage to review numbers, it just boosts a writer when they get feedback on their work - I don't care if it's negative or positive. I apologise if my little rant irritates any of you, but I just wanted to say it this one time. I won't again, I promise.

Anyway, now the unpleasant business is over with, let's pick up from last chapter's cliffhanger!

 _12 Grimmauld Place, Christmas Eve_

With a loud retort, Harry and Hermione appeared in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. When he looked back at it, Harry realised what a risk he was taking, appearing somewhere that the Death Eaters almost certainly had access to, but when he was in the moment, only thinking of somewhere he could take Hermione to keep her safe, it just happened to be the first place to enter his mind. As it happened, there were no unwelcome enemies there, the griminess of their surroundings suggesting no one, not even Kreacher, had been there since they'd fled the Ministry. Anyway, returning to the matter at hand…

Harry frantically rushed over Hermione, wringing his hands and brain, trying not to panic.

"Hermione! Hermione, stay with me Goddamnit!".

She murmured, and twisted, but no words were audible. Even Harry, with no medical training, could tell that the situation was dire. Nagini's fangs had pierced her neck, and blood was flowing out of the puncture wounds at an uncontrollable rate, staining the wood of the table dark red. Not only that, but Harry knew that, unseen, venom was working its way through Hermione's body, attempting to shut it down for good. He couldn't let that happen.

He grabbed Hermione's bag, looking for books that could help. Eventually, he found one, ' _Maybe Magic? - A Guide to Unconventional Healing' by Daisy Pomfrey._ Not pausing to consider any possible relation to the Hogwarts matron, he flicked through the pages until he found what he was searching for.

Scrambling back over to Hermione, he uttered the incantation breathlessly.

"Prohibere Sanguinem!"

He waited briefly, but couldn't see any change. Blood continued to escape Hermione far too swiftly. Harry frowned.

"PROHIBERE SANGUINEM!"

Again, nothing happened. 'Shit' Harry thought, 'Why isn't it working? Maybe something about Nagini prevents healing?". Harry's musings were interrupted by a weak "Harry…".

He jumped. "Hermione! Are you alright? I'm so sorry! Can I -"

His ramblings were silenced by a shaking finger, risen to his lips.

"In my bag… blue bottle… contains a healing antidote… Give to me…"

He hastened to obey. Grabbing it from the bag, he tenderly poured it down her throat. She smiled up at him, and for Harry it was such an angelic sight that he could almost ignore her mutilated neck.

"Harry.. I didn't know it before… but I just want to say… I love you… I love you… I love…"

Her head slipped down, and she seemed to sigh, before all movement ceased. The blood stopped flowing so quickly, turning into a trickle, and that smile was fixed on her face, rooting her forever in happiness.

Harry sat, perfectly still, staring at her.

' _No… she can't be… I gave her the antidote…'_

He raised the vial in trembling fingers, to look at the label for the first time. It was the only liquid of its colour in the bag, so it had to be what Hermione had wanted. _Bone-Mending Potion._ What? For a second, his mind was blank. Then, Harry realised what had happened. Hermione knew that she was dying. She didn't want him, in her last moments, to be upset, she didn't want the last thing she saw to be Harry distraught. So she made him believe that she would survive, and then lit up his face by telling him she loved him. All she wanted was her last sight in this life to be Harry smiling.

Her last sight.

Hermione was dead.

He was alone.

For a second, any observer would have thought Harry had died along with her - he sat stock still, eyes tightly shut. Then, they opened, shining bright green, and Harry screamed. A primal wave of sound erupted around him, and with it, a wave of pure magic, shattering pots, smashing chairs, destroying all around him, but leaving Hermione untouched. He screamed and screamed, far past the point where he should have had to draw breath, an unbroken sign of pure agony. Eventually, when the kitchen was no longer recognisable as such, he ceased, and broke down sobbing.

Hermione was dead. Harry wished he was too.

But he wasn't. Although it pained him to continue alone, he knew that he had to. It would insult Hermione's memory to give up on the task she died trying to achieve. But how could he? Even if he succeeded in destroying Voldemort, he couldn't live without his friends. Only Ron and Hermione would understand him - only they would understand that he didn't do it for the fame, or the glory, he did it because he had to. Everyone else would worship him as a hero, and that was exactly what Harry didn't want. After this war was over, Harry Potter would be the last person Harry wanted to be.

" _So don't BE Harry Potter."_ A small voice piped up in the back of Harry's head. It was then that an idea formed itself in Harry's mind. It was crazy, absolutely insane, and yet the more he thought about it, the more determined he was to go through with it.

He could become Hermione Granger.

It made sense, in his fevered mind. If he became Hermione, and completed his task as her, claiming that Harry Potter was dead, it would be seen as someone avenging their friend. What's more, Hermione Granger didn't have the same hero status as Harry Potter, and so surely the attention in the aftermath wouldn't be so bad? He also vaguely thought about what Hermione would have wanted. After the war, she would have wanted to reform the Wizarding world, so that evil wouldn't rise again. If he took over her life, he could do what she would have wanted. He would be living her life… for her, when she couldn't. What better gift to the girl he'd loved?

Mind made up, Harry started the necessary preparations. Taking out the last of the Polyjuice from Hermione's bag, he poured it into one of the few remaining cups in the kitchen. Then, trying not to look at her face, he took a strand of her hair, and some scrapings of skin from her arm. Finally, took a couple of drops of blood from the sea around her, and added them all to the potion. Immediately it started fizzing violently, turning a strong golden colour. Harry knew there was no going back if he took the potion, but he didn't care. This was what, for better or worse, he wanted to do. Without pausing to think about it further, he grabbed the glass, and downed the potion. Pain shot through his entire body, and he cried out in agony, realising that this transformation would be far more painful than any he'd experienced before. Thankfully, before anything else happened, he passed out, falling next to the corpse of his beloved on the table, arms crossed.

 _Well, that's the chapter! I'm sure you all saw it all coming, and I'm sorry the chapter was a little shorter than the others - I said all I needed for this one, but I promise that the next chapter will be longer. I'm sorry that the quality of writing also dropped here - I wanted to get this chapter out before I go on holiday - the next one should, again, be better . So after this, we really are moving into uncharted territory, and I very much hope that you'll all join me there! Please review, follow and favourite!_

 _Tom_


	4. Chapter 4

A/N - Hey guys! It's been a couple of weeks since I last updated this, since I've been on holiday, but I'm back now, and so I thought I might as well give you a chapter. Thank you all for your response to the last chapter, it seems that most people liked it, which was really encouraging. I even got a review from the author of one of the stories that inspired me to write this one, Ravenclaw Midnight Blue - I recommend that you read Harry Potter and the Unexpected Second Life if you want a good read, you'll enjoy it.

Before I start the chapter, I just want to make a couple of things clear, since I know bodyswap stories can confuse some people. When I refer to Harry, I now mean Harry in Hermione's body, and Harry will begin in this chapter to be referred to as she, not he. Hopefully that should avoid any confusion, and so on we go!

 _12 Grimmauld Place, 7:00 am, Christmas Day_

Harry stirred, his entire body feeling like it had repeatedly been mercilessly stabbed with sharp needles. Not only that, but his clothes no longer felt like they fit properly. His shirt felt tight around his upper chest, and his hips seemed to be straining to escape from his trousers. Harry turned his head to the side slightly, and jerked backwards, gasping. There, next to him, lay Hermione, eyes unseeing, a faint smile still upon her face. Memories of the previous night suddenly came flooding back to Harry, and he recalled what he had tried to do. Or rather, as Harry discovered looking down at his body, what he _had_ done. For there was no mistaking it. He had successfully become Hermione Granger.

At this point, it would have been all to easy for Harry to break down, and mourn Hermione's death. But she knew that this wasn't the time. She wasn't safe in Grimmauld Place, she needed to find a sanctuary where she could plan her next move. Firstly, she stripped off her clothes, and put on one of Hermione's spare sets from the bag. As it was her first try, putting a bra on caused Harry a few difficulties, but eventually she figured it out. The material felt strange on her breasts, and Harry figured that she would just have to get used to having her body constricted. She realised that there was something else making her feel strange, and she knew exactly what it was - her permanent transformation. After Hermione had told Harry about the different types of Polyjuice, Harry had done some research on them, using some of the books Hermione had in her bag, and the results had been interesting. When you use the normal, one hour potion, your body takes on a shape that looks identical to the target in every possible way, but yet isn't that body. When Harry first became Hermione, he was effectively a boy in the shape of a girl. He was still technically male, his body unable to perform any feminine functions, like having a period or getting pregnant. The permanent Polyjuice is different to that. Because it is irreversible, it is also so much more complete. Someone under the influence of regular Polyjuice could not fool a spell to test gender, yet Harry, having taken permanent Polyjuice, would be classified as a girl by any means, magic or Muggle. This, Harry realised, was the strange feeling she had. For the first time in his life, she was undeniably female. She groaned as she realised what this would entail. She didn't know when Hermione's period was next meant to occur, but she knew that she would find out first hand. It was, after all, one of the drawbacks to being female.

Before she went, Harry knew that there was one last thing for her to do. She moved over to the body of the girl she had loved.

"Hermione, you know I never wanted anyone to die for me. It was never more true than for you. I … I loved you Hermione. Without you, my life wouldn't have been worth living… but yours would. You would have accomplished great things, been famous for something you had control over… you would have been perfect. I know that you wouldn't have wanted this for me, but I will still try to make you proud. The world will forget Harry Potter, but I will make them remember Hermione Granger. And even if they don't - know that I always, _always,_ will."

She drew her wand. "Incendio." A small sputter of flames erupted, but died down quickly. Harry frowned, before remembering something else she had read in her research. She wasn't Harry Potter anymore, so why would Harry Potter's wand work for her? Muttering a hasty apology to Hermione, she grabbed the deceased's wand, taking a moment to get used to how it felt in her hand. Despite the fact she'd never held it before, there was something about it that just felt… right. Brushing aside those thoughts for now, she took aim at Hermione, and cast again.

"Incendio."

This time, the spell worked perfectly. Hermione was engulfed in flames, creating a roaring inferno that slowly but surely erased Hermione's body into nothing but ashes. As she burnt, Harry stood silently by, her mind empty as she contemplated the sight before her. Knowing she wasn't ready to let Hermione go quite yet, she conjured a small vial. When the burning was complete, she brushed the ashes into the vial, and placed it carefully into her Mokeskin pouch, along with other items that had been so important to her in her previous life; the Marauders Map, the shard from the Sirius' mirror, and other things that were precious to her. She knew that keeping the pouch could cause suspicion among those like Ron and Hagrid, who knew who it really belonged to, but for now she didn't care. She may have thrown off her previous life, but she thought it would be good to keep some kind of memento of who she used to be. Besides, she could always pretend she was keeping it as a memory of Harry if anyone asked. They would all understand that.

There was nothing left for Harry to do at Grimmauld Place. She couldn't risk staying here, and Kreacher evidently had left. Harry briefly considered trying to summon him, but didn't know if he would respond to a call from Hermione. It was a shame really, because having a house elf around would have been useful. Suddenly, Harry had a brainwave.

"Dobby!".

There was only a momentary pause, before the diminutive figure appeared before her.

"Miss Harry Potter's Grangy has called Dobby! Dobby is honoured! What can Dobby do for Miss Harry Potter's Grangy?".

Harry smiled. It lifted her spirits to see Dobby, even if she couldn't reveal herself to him properly.

"Thank you for coming to me Dobby. It's really good to see you. Firstly, just call me Hermione. Secondly, I was just wondering, can you think of anywhere for me to hide? I need a safe place, somewhere I can rest and plan in safety."

Dobby looked confused. "Why can't you be hiding with Harry Potter sir? The Great Harry Potter will always keep his friends safe!".

Harry sighed internally. She couldn't break Dobby's heart right now by telling him that Harry Potter was effectively dead, and as much as she wanted to tell him that she was Harry, there was too great a risk that the excitable elf would tell somebody.

"I know he will, Dobby, but right now we need to work separately to fight You-Know-Who, so I can't rely on Harry right now. I need either somewhere no one knows about, or someone who I can guarantee won't betray me. Can you think of anything or anyone? People like the Weasleys are out of the question, it would be too dangerous for them and me".

Dobby tilted his head, evidently thinking. Then he looked up, eyes bright and filled with joy.

"Dobby can think of many who would not betray Harry Potter's friends!".

"Lots?" Harry queried, "Who, Dobby?".

"Dumbledore's Army!", cried Dobby.

 _He was right,_ Harry realised. There was a whole group of people who had already proven that they wouldn't sell Harry out. Sure, they'd proven it with regards to Umbridge, not the Dark Lord Voldemort, but the principle was the same. All she had to do was ask if any of them would shelter her, and at least one of them would reply. Reaching into her beaded bag, she pulled out the enchanted Galleon that had belonged to Hermione, and sent the necessary message.

 _HG in need of sanctuary._

 _Send Patronus if you can help._

Stowing the coin back in the bag, she bent down and hugged Dobby tightly.

"Thanks Dobby, you've really helped me out there!"

Dobby shrugged his shoulders, and Harry knew that if House Elves could, Dobby would be blushing at that moment.

"Dobby will always help out Miss Hermione, friend of Harry Potter. Dobby must go now, but can Dobby ask Miss Hermione for a favour?".

"Of course, Dobby. Anything."

"If Miss Hermione sees Harry Potter, can she tell him that… that Dobby misses him?"

It was said with a passion straight from the heart, and it damn near broke Harry's heart to keep up the lie.

"Definitely Dobby. If I can, I'll let him know as soon as possible."

Dobby grinned again, evidently happy at the thought of giving Harry Potter a message, before he clicked his fingers, and was gone from the house. Now all Harry could do, was wait for someone from the D.A to reply.

 _So, there you go. Please remember to review, even if you didn't like it - feedback is always welcomed by any author, myself included. Favourite and follow if you want to know when the next chapter is out. I'll bring it to you when it's done, and until then, good bye!_

 _Tom_


	5. Chapter 5

A/N - Hey guys, welcome back! I like to reply when people give me a kind review, as thanks, normally by private message. However, I received a guest review from Lexos, which meant I couldn't do that. So, I thought I'd do it here - thank you very much for your review, I very much appreciated it. I really enjoy reading all your reviews, so thank you all for giving them to me!

 _12 Grimmauld Place, Christmas Day, 9:00 am_

Harry sat silently in the kitchen, awaiting a reply. She wasn't sure who would answer; after all, it would be an incredible risk for anyone to take her in, even if they were unaware that she was formerly Harry Potter. Although it was small, she knew there was a slim chance of betrayal, even now, and kept a tight grip on her wand, just in case any unwelcome visitors decided to show up. Whilst waiting, Harry thought about what she should do next. Although it would have been easy to forget, what with all that had happened to her in recent times, her goal was still to find and destroy Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes. Both Ron and Hermione had argued against the possibility of one being in Hogwarts, but it was the only idea Harry had at the moment. If she could just infiltrate the castle, she could set up camp in the Room of Requirement, and use the Marauder's Map and Invisibility Cloak to search undetected. All she needed was a way into the castle.

Harry's musings were interrupted by a flash of silver, before it materialised into a swan, and spoke to her.

"If you need a place to hide, Apparate to Patil Retreat, on the South Coast. Be prepared to prove you are who you claim to be." It's message delivered, the swan faded away.

Harry frowned. Out of all the people in the D.A., she hadn't expected the Patil twins to reply. And for that matter, as far as she could remember, neither of their Patroni were swans…

However, she had no choice. They were offering her aid, and there was nowhere else to turn right now. She took one last look around the house, before turning on her heel, and Disapparating.

She reappeared with a loud crack, barely having time to take in the smell of the sea, and the feeling of the wind gently blowing her long hair, before she noticed the three wands pointing directly at her.

"What form did my Boggart take in Defence against the Dark Arts?" said Parvati.

"And who did I go to the Yule Ball with?", Padma asked menacingly.

"And which of my friends betrayed the D.A. to Umbridge?" Cho quizzed her, still aiming her wand at Harry.

"A mummy, Ron Weasley, and Marietta Edgecombe." Harry replied swiftly, keen to see the wands lowered.

And they were. All three of the figures broke into large smiles.

"Hermione!" Parvati cried, throwing her arms around her. "It's great to see you! How are you?"

"Well enough," Harry replied, "Thanks for letting me come here. Do your parents know? What about yours, Cho?"

The smiles faded. They all glanced at each other, before Cho faced Harry.

"Our parents are all gone, Hermione. The Death Eaters killed them all. It's why I came to here - I thought Padma might be able to give me a place to stay, and thankfully she did."

Harry looked down at her feet, internally raging. This was what she had to stop - senseless killings needed to end, and she had the power to do it. She looked back up, filled with renewed determination.

"Is this place safe?"

Padma looked at her quizzically.

"How safe do you mean?"

"Could you hide here from the Death Eaters if you needed to?"

Padma nodded. "It's under Fidelius, Parvati and I are both Secret - Keepers now. Why? Do you think we'll need to?"

Harry looked them all in the eyes.

"I have a plan. I need to get into Hogwarts, and with your help, I think I can. This is the plan. If you don't think you want to help, just say the word. The Death Eaters will be expecting both Patils to board the Hogwarts Express in three days but from what I heard, they only take a register of who comes through the barrier. From that point on, they don't know who is where until a register is taken in the common room."

Cho interrupted her. "This may all be true Hermione, but what is your point?"

Harry grinned. "If I take Polyjuice to look like either Padma or Parvati, I can get on the train with the other twin without causing suspicion. Then, once the train starts moving, the twin can Apparate back here, whilst I continue to Hogwarts, where I can hide in the Room of Requirement. That's why you'll have to hide here, because once they realise that neither of the Patil twins turned up at Hogwarts, they'll come looking."

There was silence for a moment, as Padma and Parvati gazed at each other. It was almost as if they were communicating telepathically, which, Harry supposed, being magical twins, they might be.

Finally, Parvati broke the silence.

"Alright Hermione. We agree to your plan. Padma will go with you - you can be me. This is dangerous though, I hope you know what you're doing. We'll talk about this more later. For now, let's get you settled in for the next week."

 _Patil Retreat, 9:00 am, 2nd January_

"You're sure about this?", Parvati asked, for what felt like the thousandth time. Harry sighed.

"Parvati, I've told you, this is something that I have to do. Harry himself asked me to."

"Well, OK," Parvati said doubtfully, "But are you sure you can pull it off? You've never been a very good actor, Hermione, and you'll need to appear angry, yet frightened, if you want the Death Eaters to believe you're truly me. However," she said, raising her hands to halt Harry's protests, "it's your choice. Here are some of my clothes, and you've got the Polyjuice, so I'll leave you to it. You and Padma are leaving in half an hour, so be downstairs by then." She turned to leave, but Harry caught her by the sleeve.

"Thank you, Parvati," she said sincerely, "you're helping save the world here. I don't know how I can ever repay you."

Parvati laughed lightly. "Hermione, you don't need to repay me. If anyone is saving the world, it's you. Just… don't get yourself killed, alright? I know that, over the years, we haven't been the best of friends, but I feel that, this past week, we've really grown close. I've seen a side to you that I never knew Hermione, and I like it. I'm sure Harry is proud to call you his friend, and hopefully you'll let me call you that now to. Good luck."

With that, she turned and left, leaving a slightly shocked, but pleased Harry in her wake.

 _Right then,_ Harry thought, turning to the mirror, _time to change again._ Oddly enough, the idea of changing into Parvati didn't seem that strange to Harry anymore - after all, she was already a girl, it wasn't as if she was changing gender. So without any further hesitation, she downed the Polyjuice, immediately feeling the transformation begin to occur. She grew slightly taller, and her hips and waist became slightly curvier. She felt her breasts swell, becoming larger and heavier on her chest, and her hair becoming straighter and silkier. Looking in the mirror, she saw the most obvious change, her skin turning darker to reflect Parvati's Indian heritage. After a minute, the change was complete. Stripping off her clothes and observing her naked body, Harry realised that she was completely comfortable with it. It was almost scary, in a way, how quickly she'd gotten used to being female. What once would have aroused her, instead did nothing for her. She appreciated that Parvati had an attractive body, of course, but she was no longer sexually attracted to it.

But these were thoughts for later. Right now, she thought, as she pulled on the uniform, she had business to attend to.

 _Kings Cross Station, 10:30 am_

Once they were in the station, Harry realised that she would have no problem playing frightened. There was something in the atmosphere, even though none of the Muggles seemed affected, that made her feel tense. It was probably, she guessed, the presence of so many Dark wizards around the station, and it was unsettling. Holding hands with Padma, as they would if they really were twins, they subtly walked through the barrier at Platform 9 ¾, and were met by a man in black robes, who Harry had never seen before.

"Names?", he growled.

"Padma and Parvati Patil," Padma replied.

"Ah…", he said, face twisting into a sadistic smile, "our two new orphans. The Ministry is _terribly_ sorry for your loss."

Harry felt Padma's grip tighten on her hand, and squeezed back reassuringly. Glaring hotly at the man, she replied for Padma, anger laced through her voice.

"We thank the Ministry for their concern. We _really_ appreciate it in our time of need."

She spun, dragging her "sister" with her, hearing the chuckles of the Death Eater behind her. Looking around the platform, she saw that he wasn't the only one. There were several wizards dotted around, in both black and red robes, supposedly there to provide security, but really there to capture any Muggleborn who might be stupid enough to attempt to get an education.

She clambered onto the train, and followed Padma down the corridor. They split at a carriage containing various Ravenclaws, where Padma went in. They'd decided to sit with who they normally would, so as not to arouse suspicion. Padma would leave when the call came to change into uniform, and Harry would continue alone on her mission. She headed further down the train, until she came to the carriage she'd been looking for. Inside, were Neville, Seamus, Lavender, Ginny, and Luna. Harry's heart skipped a beat, seeing her friends again. She was unsure why Luna was with the others, but she guessed that without Harry, Ron and Hermione there, her best friends were probably Neville and Ginny.

"Oh, hey Parvati. Looking forward to another term at Hogwarts?" asked Seamus glumly.

"Seamus, shh!" scolded Lavender. She stood and walked towards who she thought was her best friend.

"I'm really sorry about your parents, Parvati. We all read it in the papers - they claimed that they were traitors to the Ministry, but don't worry - we know the truth."

"Thanks..Lav," stuttered Harry, who thought that that might just have been the most serious thing she'd ever heard Lavender say.

"Yes, we're all here for you Parvati" said Neville seriously. And with that, silence returned to the carriage. Harry sat down, silently glad for that - it would be much easier to pretend to be Parvati if she didn't have to say anything. However, throughout the journey, sporadic conversations sprung up, never substantial, but enough to occasionally force Harry to speak. Luckily, most of the others didn't try to engage Harry too much, perhaps assuming she was still in mourning. One of them, though, spent a large part of the journey staring at her, with a thoughtful expression on her face. And when Harry got up to take more Polyjuice, on the pretence of going to the toilet…

"I'll come with you," Luna suddenly spoke up, "I might as well go before we get to Hogwarts."

There was nothing Harry could do to prevent her without causing suspicion, and so she helplessly led Luna into the hallway. Once they'd gone a fair distance down the train, Luna reached across and blocked Harry from continuing.

"What is it Luna?" she asked, feigning surprise.

Luna looked unimpressed.

"You're not Parvati. I know you're not. You may have fooled the others, but your acting isn't as good as you think. I don't know who you _are,_ but in these times it is better to be safe than sorry. I will tell the others about your deception. What they decide to do is up to them - you'd better start thinking of a story, fast." With that, she turned to go. Harry opened her mouth to say something, anything, but before she could, two men came into view, heading for her and Luna.

"Are you Luna Lovegood?", the taller one asked, who Harry recognised as Walden Macnair.

"I am," Luna said warily, "Who wants to know?".

"The Ministry," the second man replied, who Harry thought might be a former Auror. "You're under arrest for crimes your father committed against the state. You have the right to remain silent; anything you do say will not help you in the slightest. Give me your wand, and come with us now."

Luna looked at Harry in fear, and then back at the men. Harry felt fearful. This was bad.

"Now, Miss Lovegood. Don't make us ask you again." warned Macnair dangerously.

For a second, it seemed that Luna might refuse. However, her shoulders sunk, and she began to pull out her wand. Harry couldn't wait any longer. She couldn't let this happen, and damn the consequences. She whipped out her wand.

"Stupefy!"

The Auror went down silently.

Macnair looked furious.

"Why you little bitch! Bombarda!"

Harry narrowly dodged the hex, hearing the explosion as it hit the carriage wall, feeling the wind as air rushed in through the gaping hole.

"Expelliarmus!"

Macnair's wand flew from his hand. He only had a second to look surprised, before Harry hit him with a Stupefy.

She turned to Luna, who surprisingly didn't look shocked.

"You need to get out of here Luna. Apparate to Patil Retreat, tell them that Parvati sent you. That explosion will have drawn attention, you aren't safe here. Go!".

Luna smiled serenely, looking happier than she had for a long time.

"I will. Thank you. Take care, Hermione Granger."

With that, she Disapparated, leaving a dumbfounded Harry behind. She had no idea how Luna knew who she was, but she didn't have time to think about it now. Now, she had to get into Hogwarts. And after that little event, it might be harder than it was before...

A/N - I know that Luna was taken at the beginning of the holidays, but I just wanted to put it in the story. Anyway, as always, review and favourite, and if you want to be updated whenever I put out the next chapter, remember to follow the story! Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N - Hey guys! Sorry for the delay in this chapter - school just started again, and I just couldn't find the time to write anything. However, I'm here now, so I hope you enjoy the next chapter! A couple of people queried Luna referring to Harry as Hermione in the last chapter. Don't worry, that wasn't a mistake, it will be explained later on, in this chapter in fact. So here we go!

 _Hogwarts Express, 2nd January, 6:00pm_

Harry stood as still as possible, hidden from view by the Invisibility Cloak as the Express pulled into Hogsmeade. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but she was afraid. After Luna had gone, it had taken several minutes for Macnair and the Auror to wake up, but when they did, they looked murderous. They'd wildly looked around for Luna, but after being unable to find her, had stormed off down the train, presumably to alert someone higher ranking. Harry had no idea what kind of trouble this could cause, but she was about to find out.

"All students prepare to disembark. You will proceed to the carriages as normal. Ignore any unusual activity."

As Harry turned to look out the window at the platform, she saw what this unusual activity was, and her blood froze. Standing in the flesh, surrounded by roughly 30 other Death Eaters, was none other than Bellatrix Lestrange.

It was tough, but Harry managed to get herself safely into the castle. She'd ridden one of the Thestrals under her invisibility cloak, and then followed behind the crowd of students as they walked through the double doors into the castle. However, not everyone had managed to get safely into the castle, and for those who didn't, their fate was uncertain. It seemed the Death Eaters knew who's compartment Luna had shared, which meant that as soon as Neville, Seamus, Lavender and Ginny got off the train, they were treated to a full blast of Bellatrix's Cruciatus Curse. It didn't look like she'd underpowered it for them either - on the contrary, she was relishing the opportunity to cause as much agony as possible. After finally releasing them, she motioned to the other Death Eaters, who picked up their shuddering bodies, and Apparated away. Harry wished she knew where they'd been taken, but there wasn't much she could do right now. Bellatrix had taken a carriage up to the castle before any of the students, presumably to talk to Snape, so Harry knew she would have to be extra cautious. Right now, she was climbing the empty staircase up to the seventh floor; since all the students and staff were in the Great Hall, this was the best time to find her hiding place. Finally she came to the corridor holding the entrance to the Room of Requirement. She strode down the corridor, relieved, but suddenly stopped. Bellatrix rounded the corner, her wand out, and an unpleasant grin on her face. Harry cursed softly, and turned around to find somewhere else, but it was too late. Snape came round the other corner, face unreadable, also with his wand out. He stopped, and called out, "Show yourself. As Headmaster of this school, I am alerted whenever there is an intruder. Reveal yourself, or I shall do it for you."

Harry froze, unsure what to do. This was really bad.

Snape sighed.

"Very well. Hogwarts, reveal to me the intruder!"

For a second, Harry thought it hadn't worked. But then, her cloak slipped off, allowing both Death Eaters to know exactly who they'd caught.

Bellatrix laughed. "Well, it seems we've caught Potty's little Mudblood, doesn't it Snape! I'm sure the Dark Lord would be _very_ interested in speaking to you missy, but you don't need to be in perfect condition for that, don't you worry! Cruci-"

"STUPEFY!"

Harry closed her eyes, waiting for either spell to hit her, but felt nothing. She opened them again, only to see Bellatrix unconscious on the floor. She spun around, immediately being caught with Snape's "Accio wand!", and being left defenceless in front of the man she hated more than virtually anyone else. He stared down at her, not saying anything. Harry waited, confused. Was he going to curse her? Kill her? What? Then she knew. She felt a tickle in the back of her mind, and realised that she was being subjected to Legilimency. With great effort, she wrenched Snape out of her mind. "Get out of my head you bastard!'

Snape took a step back, but was staring at her with such horror that it made her pause. He spoke, his voice shaking with… fury?

"Follow me to my office. We shall speak further there. Rest assured that I am on your side … for now." Stopping only to Levitate Bellatrix in front of him, Snape set off, assuming Harry would follow. And she did. She didn't really have much of a choice, after all.

"Right… Right…" Snape said, massaging his temples. "Attempting to enter the castle… that was foolish. I wouldn't expect it of you, Miss Granger. Of course, having seen your mind, I know that you are _not_ Miss Granger, are you Mr Potter?"

Harry shut her eyes, resigned to her fate. It was surely only a matter of minutes until Snape summoned Voldemort, and after that only a few more until she would be dead.

"Relax," said Snape harshly, "You have nothing to fear. I, on the other hand… But that can wait for a minute. Let me prove my true allegiance to you - watch this memory, and you shall see."

Standing, he walked over to Dumbledore's Pensieve, and drew a memory from his mind. Taking a deep breath, Harry lowered her head into it, wondering what she would see.

 _A/N - I'm not going to describe the memory - essentially, it's the one where Dumbledore tells Snape to kill him, and the one where he tells Snape that Harry must die for Voldemort to be killed._

Harry emerged from the memory, her mind blazing and her heart hammering. "You're a spy! You're on our side! But… but… "

Snape laughed, a harsh laugh that told Harry he was still furious.

"Yes you stupid child, I'm on your side. Of course, after what you've done, our side doesn't have a hope any more!"

"What are you talking about?" Harry fired back, getting angry herself now.

Snape looked like he wanted to strike her, but restrained himself with great difficulty.

"I shall begin with some good news, of something you managed to do that does help the cause, however unintentional it may have been. As you saw in the memory, you were a Horcrux. I say were, as when you took that potion, the Horcrux was destroyed. After all, Hermione Granger did not have a scar with a Horcrux in it, so now, neither do you."

Harry grinned, despite the negative energy she could still feel coming from Snape.

"Well that's good, isn't it? We're one step closer to defeating Voldemort. Really, we should be thankful that I did it."

"Enough!" Yelled Snape, startling Harry back into silence. He looked even angrier that earlier, if that was possible. Snape stood, throwing his chair backwards into the wall with a crash. He rushed towards Harry, cloak billowing, until he stood tall over him, gazing down with a look of pure hatred on his face.

"You arrogant child! You foolish child! You don't comprehend what you've done, do you? Let me explain, in terms even a dunderhead like you can grasp. The subject of the prophecy to destroy Voldemort is Harry Potter. The way a prophecy works is that it refers to a person's soul. Souls are how the universe identifies someone - they are completely unique, and never can the same soul exist twice. Therefore, someone with the soul of Harry Potter must kill Voldemort. Up until recently, that was you. However, that has now changed. When Miss Granger died, a hole was left in the universe. Her soul no longer had a body. By taking that potion, you filled that hole - you essentially traded your soul for hers. That is why she had to die for the potion to work. You kept your mind, but took her soul for your own. This is why Luna Lovegood called you Hermione - she can see straight to people's souls. However, by filling that hole, you created another. You are no longer Harry Potter. There is no one alive right now who is Harry Potter as far as their soul is concerned. That means that no one alive right now can kill Voldemort, not even you. He is… invincible."

 _Thanks for reading, and please leave a review if you can!_

 _If you want to be alerted to future chapters, remember to follow the story! See you next time!_


	7. Chapter 7

A/N - Hello, everyone! I'm so sorry to have kept you all waiting so long, hopefully none of you minded. I just couldn't get the chapter how I wanted it, so I left it for a while before coming back to it, but it's finally done, and here it is! Please enjoy it!

 _Hogwarts Headmaster's Office, 2nd January, 9:00pm_

Harry sat, immobile, her mind seemingly dead. She hadn't realised what far reaching consequences her decision could have.

"I'll … I'll just turn back into Harry then… reclaim my soul. That should work, shouldn't it?"

Snape snorted with derision, staring out of the window instead of looking at Harry.

"And what will you use for the transformation? Did you happen to save any blood, any hair, from your old form? No, you didn't, because you're an arrogant child who always thinks he knows best! Even if you could make the potion, the immense strain it would place on your body to make the change again would almost certainly mean your death. Alive, you can still fill some meager role. Dead, you're not going to help anyone. You really have messed up this time, Potter, and you have only yourself to blame."

The utter disgust that filled Snape's voice made Harry crawl in her skin, and yet she knew she deserved it. Through her unthinking, it was very possible she'd handed Voldemort victory, at no cost to the Dark Lord.

A void of silence opened between them for a couple of minutes, before Harry asked, almost inaudibly, "What are we going to do, then?"

For a moment, it seemed Snape wouldn't answer. Then, he sighed.

"You continue upon your quest to destroy the Dark Lord's Horcruxes. I will destroy Nagini myself. After that, we hope the prophecy was wrong, and that anyone can kill Voldemort when he is but a mortal man again."

Harry frowned.

"Why would you kill Nagini? That would give away your position as a double agent."

Snape chuckled darkly, a low, unpleasant noise.

"Thanks to you, I fear that role is lost to me. If I continue to work for the Dark Lord, it is inevitable that he will use Legilimency on me; he uses it on all his servants to determine the veracity of what they tell him. I may be a Master Occlumens, but we cannot risk him finding out about your identity - it would destroy what little chance we have left. Therefore, I will use my position to destroy a Horcrux, before fleeing."

Harry digested the information, concern shooting through her mind.

"If you flee, though, how will you protect the students of Hogwarts?"

Unreadable black eyes met her own.

"I can't."

"Then they will be open to all the cruelty of the Carrows! They'll be tortured for your betrayal!"

Rage overtook Snape's face.

" _Do you think I don't know that, you stupid girl?! Dumbledore asked me to protect the students, and I'm going to fail him! Do you know how that makes me feel? And yet, in all of it, I can take comfort in the fact that it is_ _ **completely your fault!**_ "

Silence reigned again, yet it was much more uncomfortable this time. Ignoring Snape's comments about who to blame, Harry knew that the students had to be protected, and that couldn't happen at Hogwarts. After all, Voldemort wasn't going to appoint McGonagall or Flitwick as the next Headmaster, he'd appoint someone like Bellatrix, as a punishment to the students. There's be murders every day if that happened, Harry knew, as anyone not perfectly confirming with the Pure blood ideal was rooted out. No, the students (or at least the non-Slytherins) had to be moved elsewhere.

Tentatively, she spoke up.

"Professor, the students can't stay here after you leave - certainly not anyone outside Slytherin house."

Snape seemed to be restraining himself from shouting again with difficulty.

"I know that, but knowing it doesn't help us in any way. I suppose you think you have a plan, do you?"

Harry drew a deep breath, preparing to lay out her idea.

"Yes, I do actually. But the timing will be tight. Do you have any Veritaserum in stock?"

A curious look appeared on his face. "Plenty. In case I have to interrogate the students. But why?"

"Well, here is my plan. Firstly, you must reveal your true allegiance to the Sprout, McGonagall and Flitwick. You'll need some excuse about your cover being compromised to explain why you're telling them, but I know you can think of something. They then head to their respective Houses, and use Veritaserum to establish who among their houses are supporters of the Dark Lord. Those who are can be stunned, and sealed in their dormitories. Once all three have finished, they will send you a Patronus signal. You will order a portion of the Hogwarts house elves to go with each house, and they will use elf magic to Apparate the Heads of house and their students to safe locations. You will head to Voldemort, and destroy Nagini, then retreat, and meet up with one of the Houses. The students can either be evacuated to the Continent from the safe locations, or wait out the war there."

Snape considered the plan, then gave her a grudging look of respect.

"It is a solid plan, but it is missing several aspects. What are these 'safe locations' you mentioned, and how can you guarantee that they _will be safe?"_

"That's easy," Harry grinned, "Once they arrive, the Professors perform the Fidelius charm, with themselves as the secret keepers. If they stay safe in the buildings, Voldemort will never find them. As for the buildings themselves, I'd say we need three - one for each house. The only real requirement is that they're large enough - location doesn't really matter since Voldemort can't find them under the Fidelius. The ones that I can think of, at least off the top of my head, would be Grimmauld Place, and the Riddle Manor. With Voldemort setting up base at the Malfoy's, he'll never think that we'd use his old family house for ourselves."

Snape nodded. "Your logic is, surprisingly, sound. I believe that I can offer you the third location. Upon the death of my grandfather, I inherited the Prince Manor. While I have never used it personally, I believe that it is the right size for our needs."

Harry breathed out slowly. The plan was set, then.

"Okay," she said, trying to act more confidently than she felt. "You should go give the orders to the Professors. Do you have any idea what your reason for betraying Voldemort will be, since you can't mention me?"

Snape smiled unpleasantly, a look that promised pain would be visiting someone imminently.

"We have Bellatrix Lestrange as a prisoner, do we not?" I will simply say that she thought I was a traitor, and attempted to kill me. To defend myself, I had to kill her first, but I knew the Dark Lord would order my death for the crime. Therefore I had no choice but to rejoin the side of the Light. This way, I reveal my allegiance, and we rob the Dark Lord of his most favoured servant."

Harry simply nodded. It was a fantastic idea, that she had no doubt Snape would pull off effectively.

"Well then," she said, "we'd both better get to our tasks then."

Rising, she left the office, ignoring the green flash behind her as Bellatrix was finally punished for her sins.

 _Next chapter: Will Snape and Harry both be successful in destroying a Horcrux? And how will the prophecy be resolved? Follow to find out!_

 _Thank you all for reading this chapter! I can't promise how long it will be until the next one, so I hope you all bear with me! Please leave a review if youre enjoying the story (or even if you're not - I want to know how to improve it for you!) Until next time!_


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N – It has been a long time, hasn't it? To those few of you who actually cared about this story, I apologise unreservedly for my lack of content; I haven't been in the writing mood for months. However, I hate unfinished stories just as much as any of you, and it would be hypocritical of me to give you one, so don't worry – you might not get a chapter every week, month, or even to any kind of schedule, but I promise that this story will be finished eventually. With that, let's finally get back to business!**

 _Hogwarts Headmaster's Office, 2_ _nd_ _January, 10:00pm_

There was stony silence in the room, as Snape awaited the response of McGonagall, Flitwick and Sprout. After he had told them of his true allegiance, and his plan for the evacuation of the students, they had retreated to the back of the office to confer. It seemed like it took an age, but eventually they returned to stand before him.

McGonagall looked at him, her gaze not giving anything away. Then, without warning, she slapped him, hard across the face, before pulling him into a brief hug. As she pulled away, all three of the Heads of House broke into smiles.

"We didn't want to believe it, Severus," she said, her voice almost wavering. "The thought that one of our own could have betrayed us to such an extent, could have killed Albus in cold blood… none of us knew what to think at first. It's good to know that we were wrong about you."

"Yes indeed," piped up Flitwick. "Now to this plan of yours. I think it just might work, but we'll need to get the Carrows out of our way before we start interrogating our students, in case any of those loyal to He-Who-Must-not-Be-Named attempt to alert them."

Snape nodded, waved his wand, and sent off a shimmering Patronus out the window. "We'll stun them and leave them here. With no one to wake them, and no one due to visit for a few days, we will all have time to do everything we need before the Dark Lord learns of my betrayal. They will be caught completely off guard."

Sprout unfolded her arms, and pulled out her wand, as did the others. "Excellent, Severus. Whilst we wait for those monsters to arrive, can I just ask which house will be going to which safe location? You didn't actually specify."

"My mistake, Pomona, the destination for each of you and the reasoning behind it is thus. The safest, and most obscure location is Prince Manor; therefore, the Hufflepuff's will be going there. Grimmauld Place has an extensive library, which could contain useful information with regards to fighting the Dark Lord and his followers – your Ravenclaws will no doubt enjoy perusing those texts Filius."

Flitwick grinned, well aware of his house's admittedly deserved reputation.

"That leaves the Riddle Manor for Gryffindor, Minerva. As perhaps the most intimidating location to hide out, even with the safety of the Fidelius, I thought it might be prudent to send the house of the brave there."

McGonagall pursed her lips, but bowed her head in acknowledgement.

"I might not like taking my cubs to such a dark place, but I cannot fault your logic Severus. This is a sound plan, and as good a way as any to protect our students from the fallout of your actions."

Suddenly, there was a creaking as the door to the office was opened, and the Death Eaters masquerading as teachers entered.

"What is it, Snape?" questioned Alecto. "Something wrong in the blood-traitor houses? What are these Muggle-lovers doing here?"

The four conspirators exchanged glances, then raised their wands simultaneously. The Carrows took a step back, spluttering.

"Snape? What the… what the hell is this? You know what the Dark Lord does to traitors!"

"Don't worry, Alecto. This won't hurt much. If it's any consolation, soon you won't have to worry about those 'blood-traitor houses'. But that's for later. For now, _STUPEFY_!"

Four jets of red light slammed into the siblings, knocking them both to the ground, unconscious.

McGonagall smiled, in a vindictive fashion that belied her normally dour demeanour.

"Well, I think it is therefore time for us to begin. Good luck everyone. Will you be joining any of us after your task is complete, Severus?"

He shrugged. "I honestly do not know, Minerva. The likelihood of my success and continued state of living together, is not particularly high. I hope to see you all again in the future, but I wouldn't commit to that."

Her smile was gone now, as were those of Flitwick and Sprout. Instead, it seemed tears might be forming in the eyes of the stoic Scotswoman.

"We will not say goodbye to you, Severus, that would be far too final. Just know, that we all respect you deeply, and if, for any reason, you don't make it, we will tell the world of your role in its liberation."

With that said, and sad nods from Sprout and Flitwick, the three of them left to carry out their tasks. Snape sighed, forcing the feelings down inside of himself; there was far too much he had to do for him to take stock of emotion right then. He took one last look at the three bodies strewn across the floor, and allowed himself a moment of pleasure for robbing Voldemort of one of his most devoted servants, then he strode over to the fireplace, and grabbed a handful of Floo powder. With a deep breath, he walked into the flames.

"Malfoy Manor!"

 _Outside the Room of Requirement, 2nd January, 9:30 pm_

Harry paced back and forth in front of the wall, her mind racing. Whilst she was obviously thrilled that she had been able to help the innocent students, the fact remained that she had possibly thrown away the only chance she had of defeating Voldemort. She had to stay focused on the task at hand for now – once she'd destroyed whatever Horcrux lurked in the depths of the castle, she could address the other issue. The door to the Room formed in front of her, responding to 'I need a place to hide out from those loyal to Voldemort.' She pulled it open, and stepped inside, surveying her base. It was fairly simple, but functional – there was a small bed, a toilet, and a desk, a shelf with some books on it, and not much else. Harry wasn't yet sure how she would get food; perhaps she could call a house-elf to help with that?

She put the Marauder's Map down on the desk, and pulled out her wand. Back when she and the old Hermione had been alone after Ron left them, they had discussed using the map to spy on Hogwarts, and Harry had expressed concern that they couldn't see the Room – they would have no idea who was using it, or for what. That was when Hermione had revealed she had, on and off, been working on a spell to update the map when it entered a new room in Hogwarts. Now Harry was here, she might as well try it out.

"Addere Locus!" she intoned. A bright blue light shone at the end of her wand, as she pointed it in all the directions she could, taking in the layout of the room. Once completed she pressed the tip to the Map, and watched in satisfaction as more black ink snaked across the parchment. She reached out to put the Map away, job done, but something caught her eye. Where there should be only one name in the Room, there seemed to be… two? She leaned in for a closer look. There was the expected name, Hermione Granger, but jumping around, not staying in the same place, was another… Tom Riddle.

 **A/N – So there you go, the first in hopefully many more chapters! Next time, there will hopefully be some Horcrux destroying (if all goes well for our characters), and as for anything else – well, you'll have to wait and find out, won't you? I hope you enjoyed this, please review if you did, and if you didn't, please still do, and tell me what you didn't like! I've obviously been away from writing for a while, so I could be a bit rusty! Thank you all, until next time.**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N – Thanks to those of you who reviewed the last chapter – it makes me very pleased to see that you were happy about the return of this story. Let's get straight back into it.**

 _Room of Requirement, 2nd January, 10:00 pm_

Harry stood there for a minute, immobile. She had never considered the possibility that Voldemort would hide a Horcrux inside the Room of Requirement, but then, that was probably because, like all those who use the Room, Voldemort presumably included, she had assumed she and her friends were the only students who knew about it. It really was almost the perfect hiding place, since you could only find it if you already knew what you were looking for – once you knew, it would be easy. Harry picked up her stuff, and exited the Room, since the Horcrux clearly wasn't in this iteration of it – if it was, it would have been motionless on the map, not jumping around. She faced the wall, and began pacing. _I need the place where Tom Riddle hid a Horcrux. I need the place where Tom Riddle hid a Horcrux._ She opened her eyes, and pulled open the door, stepped in, and abruptly stopped. What greeted her was a very familiar room, one that she had been in less than a year ago, hiding the Half-Blood Prince's potions textbook. Back then, she hadn't realised that this room held such a dark object, but now, being more attuned to their aura through her exposure to the locket, there was something palpable in the air, telling her this was the right place. It was almost as if it was calling to her, and Harry was more than willing to follow that call. She made her way through the paths formed around the piles of junk, weaving this way and that, until she came to something that, yet again, was very familiar. There was the cupboard that they'd hidden the textbook in, and on a table in front of it, the marker they'd left so they knew where it was, a rusty old tiara. Harry reached for it, picking it up. The malice she could feel emanating from it was unmistakeable – there was no doubt that she was holding another piece of Voldemort's soul in her hands.

Under the Invisibility Cloak, Harry made her way through the halls of Hogwarts. She'd passed both McGonagall and Flitwick leading their students towards the exits, so she knew that so far, the evacuation was going well. Reaching the second-floor girls bathroom, she opened the door. The ghost sitting on the sink perked up, alerted by the sound.

"Who's there?"

Harry removed the cloak, smiling at the image of the dead girl.

"Hello Myrtle. It's good to see you again."

Myrtle pouted, not looking particularly thrilled, and when she spoke, Harry realised why.

"Oh, it's you, Harry's friend. I haven't seen you around here in years, is Harry with you? I still miss that boy."

Harry winced; she had forgotten that Hermione and Myrtle hadn't known each other as well as Harry and Myrtle had.

"No, he's not here, but I'm doing a job for him."

"Well don't let me disturb you. Just get on with it, and leave me alone!"

With that, Myrtle swooped off, splashing down a toilet. 'S _he never changes'_ thought Harry wryly to herself, before approaching the sink. A doubt suddenly hit her. Would she be able to open the Chamber anymore? Harry hadn't tried speaking Parseltongue since the change, she had no idea if she'd be able to. Focusing on the snake on the tap handle, she gave it a go.

"Open."

Nothing happened. Clearly, that had been plain English. Gathering herself, she tried again, more forcefully this time.

"OPEN!"

Again, there was nothing. Harry deflated. It made sense, she supposed. Hermione had never been able to speak Parseltongue – why should she be able to do it now? Pulling out her wand, Harry took the only other avenue that was open to her.

"Bombarda Maxima!"

The sink unit exploded in a shower of debris, Harry shielding her face with her arm. Coughing from the dust, she surveyed the results. The tunnel to the Chamber was now exposed, and quite possibly would remain that way for some time. That explosion would certainly have drawn the attention of anyone nearby, so without a moment of pause, Harry strode forward, and jumped down the hole.

Proceeding down the long hallway with caution, Harry found the view breath-taking. Now that she wasn't in the immediate danger from an enormous basilisk, she could appreciate the majesty of the Chamber, complete with its awe-inspiring statue at the end. Speaking of the basilisk, it's corpse was exactly where Harry had left it five years ago. The only difference was that it had started rotting in that time, resulting in one of the most unpleasant smells Harry ever had the misfortune to encounter. Doing her best to ignore it, she walked up to the body, and, gritting her teeth, pulled a fang from the open mouth of the giant serpent. She laid the diadem on the floor, and stabbed it, hard, with the fang. Black smoke erupted from it, and Harry reeled back, gagging. The fang crumbled to nothing in her hand, rendered to nothing by the power of what it had just defeated. The aftershock of a high scream could be heard echoing around the chamber, despite its beginning being inaudible, but Harry knew that this meant the Horcrux had been destroyed. It had been remarkably easy, she thought. Almost too easy.

Retrieving the locket from her bag, Harry grabbed another fang. Two Horcruxes in one would not be a bad day's work. The only problem was, how to open it? She doubted that the solution she had used for the Chamber entrance would work on this. It was worth a go, though.

"Bombarda Maxima!"

The locket flew up into the air, and returned to the ground with a clatter. Nope. It was completely untouched, as Harry had expected. It was time to change tack. She lifted the locket into the air, and turned to face the statue. She didn't think this would help either, but again, she tried.

"This is Salazar Slytherin's Chamber. By his power, I ask you, his heir, to open his secrets to me."

The language was perhaps a bit more archaic than she would normally use, but that was what she thought Slytherin might use. There was silence. Harry sighed, convinced that it hadn't work, but then there was a whirring noise. She looked back at the locket, breath held as the doors opened, to reveal two bewitching eyes. Fang raised, she prepared to strike, but before she could, a dreadfully familiar whisper came from the locket.

"You are not of Slytherin's line. How dare you defile his chamber. You are no more than a filthy muggleborn – and more than that, you are a failure. You want to make people proud… you want to make someone in particular proud. But you never will. You will always be a disappointment – unloved, unwanted, uncared for. She will have died in vain, died for- "

It was cut off. With a sob, Harry slammed down the fang, the now familiar death cry of the Horcrux echoing in the chamber. She knew that Voldemort's soul was lying – of course it just wanted to inflict as much pain as it could before its inevitable destruction. But that didn't mean it didn't work.

 _Malfoy Manor, 2nd January, 11:30 pm_

Snape stepped out of the flames, brushing small patches of soot off his robes. The room he had arrived in, the main entrance hall of Malfoy Manor, was a picture of decadence; marble seemed to make up most of the room, and exquisite paintings hung on all the walls. The fireplace behind him was highly decorative, and Snape had to brush away the thought that this might be the last time he ever used it. It was imperative that he kept his mind as clear as he always did around Voldemort, as one stray thought could result in his slow, painful death. Proceeding up the central staircase, he came to a much smaller room, which was obviously some kind of office. The door was open, and sitting at the desk, a glass of wine in his hand, was Lucius Malfoy. He looked up, seeing Snape standing outside.

"Severus," he said heavily, his voice rough. "I didn't know you were coming today."

Snape looked at the desk. There were empty bottles all over it, suggesting the glass in Lucius' hand was not the only one he had consumed. His once fine hair was unkempt, as if in prison, but despite all the evidence that Lucius was breaking, Snape felt no sympathy for him. It was about time Lucius learnt about Voldemort's true nature, and falling out of his favour like Lucius had was the only way he would.

"I must speak with our Lord; it is something of the utmost importance. Where can I find him, Lucius?"

Lucius shrugged.

"He spends much of his time here in the library. He's probably there if he's here."

Snape looked at him quizzically.

"If he's here? This is our current base of operations, is it not? The Dark Lord is unlikely to be off on some sojourn."

The elder man snorted, something that a few years ago he never would have done, but he had changed since then.

"Unlikely? More often than not, he is off who knows where. He's looking for something, Severus – something to do with his and Potter's wands, some way of beating it. Until he finds it, he couldn't give a damn about us, or completing our noble work. He's leaving the muggles and mudbloods to us, whilst he disappears on his personal campaign. It makes me sick; this man who promised to make our vision of the future a reality, and now it's here, now we can finally do it, and he does nothing."

"Indeed, Lucius. This is troubling news. I shall endeavour to find out exactly what the situation is, but for now, goodbye."

Lucius just nodded, before returning to staring out the window. Snape left him without another word, making his familiar path to the library. He had many happy memories from that place; from the days between the wars, when he and Lucius had been much closer than they were now. Many nights, they had sat in there, talking and drinking like the old friends they were. Hopefully today, he could add another pleasant memory to that collection.

Further down the corridor, he arrived at the entrance. Standing outside was Pettigrew, either on guard duty, or just lazing around, it was hard to tell with his demeanour. When he saw Snape approaching, he straightened, and stared hard at him.

"What are you doing here, Snape?" he questioned in his thin voice. "You have no appointment with the Dark Lord. Get back to your school."

Snape just raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'm afraid not, Pettigrew. I must speak with our master. You will stand aside."

Pettigrew gave a nervous laugh, fidgeting with his fingers but not moving from his position.

"You don't give me orders, Snape. Only He can, and he told me to guard the door, and not let anybody – Hey!"

His little speech was interrupted by Snape brushing past him, confident that Pettigrew would be too cowardly to actually do anything. He was right.

"My Lord? Are you in here?"

There was a rustling from deep amongst the shelves, and Snape bowed pre-emptively. A figure emerged from the darkness… well, more accurately two figures. A high, cold voice spoke.

"Severus. I see Wormtail has failed yet again at even the most basic of tasks I give him. I will have to punish him again later. But for now… to what do I owe the pleasure? For what reason have you interrupted us?"

The snake at his feet hissed, Nagini's larger than natural form even more forbidding in the gloom of the library. Snape didn't let it get to him, but ever so subtly, ensured his grip on his wand in his robes was tight. He would only get one shot at this, and it had to count.

"I'm afraid I have discovered a traitor among our ranks, my Lord. Someone working with the Potter boy to help him evade capture by our forces."

Voldemort looked into Snape's eyes, both of them unblinking. Snape could feel that little twinge inside his head that told him Voldemort was inside his mind, searching – not for information, but for feelings – the feeling of whether or not Snape was being truthful or not. After what seemed like an hour, but must have been, in reality, at most a minute, Voldemort leaned back, withdrawing from his head.

"It seems you are still my loyal servant, Severus. I can feel your honesty, so speak freely. Who is this traitor, and how did you come to know about them?"

Snape prepared to draw his wand. He knew that Voldemort's reputation as a duellist was deserved – he would react so quickly that Snape would only be able to get one spell off. Despite his mounting nerves, his voice was still smooth.

"Amycus Carrow, my Lord. He had Alecto under the Imperius curse, and forced her to send owls to Potter telling him where to hide to avoid us. I noticed she was acting oddly, and when she came to my office for a scheduled meeting this afternoon, I realised what the problem was, and freed her. She told me everything. The only thing I do not know is why Amycus has betrayed us. I apologise for lacking this information."

Voldemort drummed his long fingers against his robe. He appeared to be deep in thought, but when he spoke, the anger was evident in the undertones of his voice.

"I see. I confess, I did not think that Amycus would be the traitor. This is most unfortunate news. What do you propose we do about it, Severus?"

"My Lord?"

"How should we go about this? I value your input, as one of my most proven followers. Should we immediately capture and destroy dear Amycus, or should we feed him false information, in order to more easily and swiftly capture Potter?"

Snape steeled himself, and looked the Dark Lord directly in the face.

"I thank you for your appreciation of my thoughts, my Lord. In my mind, it is clear exactly what must be done. Avada Kedavra!"

As he spoke, he drew his wand in a blur, and pointed it at the serpent coiled on the floor. The jet of green light flew true from the end, striking the beast, and with a rushing sound, it ceased moving, as black smoke floated from the corpse.

Voldemort shrieked with rage, and a blast of pure magic shot around him, throwing Snape back. He landed heavily against a bookcase, but managed to get up quickly. It felt like that had broken a couple of ribs, but he could attend to those when he had escaped. He risked a quick look at Voldemort. He seemed like he'd completely forgotten about Snape, instead kneeling at Nagini's side. There were no tears falling from his eyes, for it was unlikely he even could cry, but if it was possible, Snape would say the Dark Lord was feeling, for perhaps the first time in his life, loss. Snape turned for the door, but it was blocked. Pettigrew. The coward took in the scene, and before Snape had a chance to do anything, raised his wand and shouted the familiar command. As yet another jet of green light rushed towards Snape, too fast for him to avoid with his injuries, he allowed himself a smile. At least he wasn't going to be tortured, and at least this way the knowledge of Potter was still safe. Just before it connected, he had his final thought. _I did all I could for you… Lily._

 **A/N – It seems it's always Snape's fate to end up dead, whether in fanfiction or the actual canon. Unlucky for him, isn't it? From now on, it should virtually all be from Harry's point of view again since I obviously no longer need Snape's. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, please leave a review whether you enjoyed it or not – positive and negative feedback are both useful for me. Next time, two characters reunite, and hatch a plan – but which two, and what is the plan for? I'll see you there.**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N – As always, thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter! Sorry for the slightly (alright, much!) longer delay than last time, but it's here now – I hope you find it to be worth the wait!**

 _ **Hogwarts Grounds, 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 00:00 am**_

Harry stumbled out of the Entrance Hall doors into the courtyard, her mind still reeling from the blows the Horcrux had dealt it. Thankfully, there was no-one around to see her, as she wasn't wearing the Invisibility Cloak; it seemed that the evacuation had taken place whilst she had been down in the Chamber, hopefully without any setbacks. She took a deep breath, and tried to clear her mind. For now, the only important thing was to get out of here before the Carrows or any of Voldemort's supporters amongst the students woke up, and alerted him to treachery at Hogwarts… if he didn't already know. Heading out and down the grounds, past the point at which the Apparition barriers stopped, she turned to take one last look at the castle that still, despite all that had happened, felt like home. Even though it was now quite empty, the lights still shone at the windows, casting the silhouette against the night sky, and Harry wondered; would this be the last time she saw Hogwarts? If it was, she was glad that in her final visit, she'd struck a hammer blow against Voldemort – Hogwarts had helped her in her journey as far as it could, and now, she truly was beyond it. Turning away, she twisted on the spot, and Apparated back to Patil Retreat.

Once the crushing darkness had lifted, she found herself back at the seaside villa of the Patil family, and it was a slightly bedraggled group of girls that came to greet her – clearly, they had been sleeping. Padma was among them, so Harry supposed that instead of evacuating with the rest of the Ravenclaws, she'd returned to be with her sister, which Harry certainly couldn't blame her for. The sight of Luna there too lifted her spirits – she had successfully escaped then.

"Hermione!", exclaimed Parvati, "we didn't expect you back here so soon!"

Harry smiled wearily. "Neither did I, but my task didn't take as long as I expected. I take it that Padma filled you in on what's gone on at Hogwarts?"

"Yes," Cho said, "and I for one am glad – the thought of so many innocent children being out from under Voldemort's yoke is one we can all enjoy."

Shaking her head, Harry replied, "Only out from it's direct shadow, Cho. Whilst he lives and rules this country, no-one can completely escape his influence, only hide from it. But yes, for now, we've won a small battle. Talking of winning small battles, I see you let Luna in? I presume she passed your tests?"

The twins and Cho shared a look and a small laugh.

"We didn't really need to test Luna, Hermione," Padma grinned, "there's no way any Death Eater could ever imitate her – she's far too unique for that."

"Well, that's wonderful, but could I possibly speak to Luna alone for a bit, please?"

"What about us, Hermione? Surely we can help with whatever you need as well?"

"It's nothing personal, I promise, but only Luna can help me with this. If it wasn't of the utmost secrecy, I would let you help, you know I would, but it is imperative as few people know as possible."

The older trio left, grumbling a bit, but also quite happy to be able to return to bed, since the hour was not one that anyone wants to be awake for. Luna was watching Hermione with interest, her large eyes glowing in the darkness.

"What is it Hermione? You seem to be plagued by Wrackspurts right now – you ought to be careful."

"That's it, Luna. You just called me Hermione – that's what I want to talk to you about."

Luna looked slightly confused. "Do you want me to call you something else? I didn't know you were into nicknames, but I'm sure I can come up with a suitable - "

Despite herself, Harry chuckled. "No, it's not that. Before, on the train, you knew who I was, even though I looked like Parvati. How did you do that?"

Luna shrugged. "I just do, Hermione. You just felt like you, even though you didn't look like you. I've done it before, I did it when Harry was disguised for that lovely wedding of Ron's older brother and Fleur Delacour. Everyone has a different feeling, I just notice it more than others seem to."

Harry took a deep breath. "Well, Luna, I'm going to tell you something that only one other person knows. It will put you in danger, even if you don't realise it, and I wouldn't if I didn't have to, but you always seem to have a knack for finding a solution that no one else can see."

The younger girl now looked very curious, and so Harry told her everything. The entire tale, from when Ron left them, up until the present. To her credit, Luna didn't once look doubtful, and didn't ask questions until Harry had finished. When she had, Luna was still smiling, which surprised Harry – she had expected even Luna to be slightly concerned at the news that Voldemort was to all intents and purposes now immortal, but on the contrary, Luna looked happier than ever.

"Isn't it obvious? Someone has to be Harry Potter, so you just need someone else to be you."

Harry frowned. "I know that, Luna, but it's slightly harder than it sounds – and currently it sounds impossible, so that says something. It's like Snape said – there's a Harry Potter shaped hole in the universe, but no one alive can fill it since no part of it is left in this world."

"Exactly, not in this world. So all we need is someone from the other world."

"Which is what, exactly?"

Luna shook her head as if it was clear what she meant.

"The world of the dead, Harry. If no one living can be you, then someone dead will have to be. Because you left your soul, but didn't die, whoever returns from the land of the dead should slot right in to where you used to be."

"I think I get what you're saying, Luna, but there's one problem. I don't need Hermione's mind to be able to tell you – you can't bring people back from the dead."

"Of course you can Harry, you simply have to open the door for them, and let them walk through."

"And where is this door? Is it even an actual door? Please, Luna, just tell me what you're getting at."

"But you already know where the door is, Harry. We've been there. In fact, you've already seen someone go through it, although admittedly not quite in the direction we would like."

Harry closed her eyes, feeling as if her mind was going to overload, before suddenly opening them when an image jumped to its forefront.

"The Veil! The Veil in the Department of Mysteries! That's what you mean!"

Luna nodded her head, a huge grin on her face.

"Of course, Harry! It's the point of connection between the worlds of the living and the dead – it's the only place to go."

"So that just leaves us with one issue. I've already broken into the Ministry once this year – I think this time might be a little bit harder…"

 _ **Malfoy Manor, 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **January, 03:00 am**_

Despite the late hour, sleep could not have been further from the minds of the residents of Malfoy Manor. They weren't sure what exactly was happening; all they knew was that, shortly before midnight, Severus Snape had gone to speak with the Dark Lord. A couple of minutes after that, a blast of pure force had knocked all of them off their feet, and an inhuman scream had echoed throughout the draughty halls. For several hours now, there had been an unbelievable racket from the library that had sent them all scurrying for company together downstairs – enormous thuds, and the occasional cry of pure agony. None of them were brave enough to investigate what it could be, but eventually there became no need. Two bodies fell down the staircase to greet them, drawing a hastily muffled cry from Lucius, and met by stunned silence by the other assembled Death Eaters. A barely moving, bloodied wreck that was just about recognisable as Peter Pettigrew, and another body, mutilated beyond recognition, and, worst of all, missing its head. The location of the stray body part was soon revealed, as Voldemort descended, the head of Severus Snape dangling by the hair in his hand. Voldemort paused at the bottom of the staircase, and looked over his Death Eaters, almost as if unaware of their presence. The silence was stifling, and no one dared break it, until Voldemort himself finally spoke.

"The traitor in our midst has been revealed. Our greatest hero, it would seem, was perhaps our greatest enemy all along. Severus Snape."

The Death Eaters glanced among themselves, to a man shocked by this news.

"Whilst Snape managed to accomplish his goal, a goal that need not concern any of you, he would not have made this move if he had any other option; he has always been far too slippery for that. No, something has happened on the side of the resistance; you will find out what for me, and you will find out now, or his fate will become your own. The time has come for your loyalty to be proved again, my Death Eaters; I cannot afford any more obstacles on our path to total control of the Wizarding World."

He looked around again, meeting the eyes of everyone present; whilst they all quickly looked away, he didn't once blink.

"From now on, there will be no more mercy, there will be no more forgiveness, no more second chances. If I think a single one of you even so much as harbours a slight fondness towards even a Half-Blood, you and your family will wish you had never been born. Yaxley!"

Yaxley noticeably jumped, and there was a quaver in his voice as he replied.

"Yes, My Lord?"

"The time for the Muggle-Born Registration Commission is over. We no longer put on a show of weeding out the parasites in our community; visit the homes of all suspected Mudbloods, and destroy them, and anyone else they are with, as painfully as your twisted mind can. We will let people know why crossing Lord Voldemort is the worst thing they could possibly ever do…"

 **A/N – So, I'm just going to say now that the next chapter is going to be almost entirely a flashback, for important character development. Therefore, you may have to wait a while for the story to advance, but when it does, let's just say we're entering a key phase of this story – I hope you're looking forward to it, make sure to follow the story if you want to be notified of when it's updated, and if you have feedback of any kind, please leave a review – I will be eternally grateful!**


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